Breakdown in France? Repair or repatriate?

Breakdown in France? Repair or repatriate?

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PMMatthews

Original Poster:

5 posts

92 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
My annual trip to France for Le Mans was spoiled by a breakdown with my 2007 997.1 C2S.

I had stopped for lunch, having enjoyed a storming run on some quiet Normandy backroads (long straights, fast open corners and hardly any other traffic). When I tried to start up again:

> The car would turn over, but not fire;
> A "Systems Failure" warning message came up;
> The "Engine" warning light came on.

I tried switching off and on again, but the same series of events happened. I tried locking and unlocking the car, but this made no difference - always the car would turn over, but not fire, with the above warning message/light coming up/on.

The only other symptoms I noticed was the luggage / engine compartment lids wouldn't open when I tried the switches and if the doors were left open, the windows would drop by about 1-2 inches and not close when the door was closed (only after switching the ignition off/on and by using the electric window switches).

Any ideas, please?
.
Fortunately, I was insured for a breakdown, so the car was recovered to the nearest Porsche Centre (Rouen). I'm waiting to hear their diagnosis.

I'm nervous that it could be easy to end up with a bill inflated by expensive labour costs and multiple new Porsche parts.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and had any dealings with the PC network in France?

What would be involved in paying to have the car repatriated to the UK for repair? Is anyone able to recommend someone who could handle the collection from France and delivery of the car to an independent in the UK?

Many thanks for your help.

Paul